Conventionally, avionics engineers and certification bodies are improving and providing pilots and flight crews with information necessary to identify in-flight traffic. An approach has been to provide the flight crew with information on the location of other aircraft in the area. One exemplary system, which is capable of providing this information, is known as traffic alert and collision avoidance system (TCAS). The systems are required for all airliners flying in the United States air space today. TCAS devices have been designed to interrogate transponders of other aircrafts, sometimes referred to as intruder aircraft. A TCAS system evaluates the threat of a collision with other aircraft and coordinates an avoidance maneuver for the aircraft. Further, the TCAS system provides traffic advisories (TAs) and resolution advisories (RAs). TAs are situations where the TCAS system identifies that there is traffic in the area which may become a threat to the aircraft in a short period of time. An RA is presented to an aircraft crew when there is imminent threat to the aircraft of a collision. The RA provides information to the pilot on actions the pilot should take to avoid the collision.
More recently, another type of traffic information system has been developed, known as automatic dependent surveillance broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B systems are capable of providing position, velocity, and status information broadcast from an aircraft at regular intervals using information obtained from global positioning system (GPS) satellites and onboard systems. ADS-B systems may use a mode S transponder, or other transponder, and provide transmissions at regular intervals. Accordingly, ADS-B transponders need not be interrogated by another aircraft.
In an ADS-B system, a mode S transponder or a squitter may be disposed in a first aircraft that periodically emits a squitter message. The squitter message is a radio frequency (RF) signal that is generated by the radio-based transponder.
Further, another type of traffic information system is a traffic information services broadcast (TIS-B) system. A TIS-B system is typically a ground station which provides position, velocity, and status information of air and ground vehicles using information obtained from ADS-B, primary surveillance radar, secondary surveillance radar, and other systems. The TIS-B ground station provides a squitter message on a periodic basis similar to the squitter message in the ADS-B system. Accordingly, ADS-B tends to refer to the air-to-air link and TIS-B tends to refer to the ground-to-air link. Each of the systems provide a data link to another aircraft. A further source of traffic information may be provided from air traffic control via looking out the window, or through a ground based or other radar system. Such information can then be communicated by the air traffic controllers to any aircraft within the vicinity of the airport.
With a variety of systems providing information to an aircraft crew, there is need for a system which provides a simplistic display to the aircraft crew. Further, there is a need for a system which chooses which information source to present to the aircraft crew in the case that there may be redundant information provided to the display system itself. Further, there is a need for a system in which specialized icons may aid in presenting information to the aircraft crew.
It would be desirable to provide a system and/or method that provides one or more of these or other advantages features. Other features and advantages will be made apparent from the present specification. The teachings disclosed extend to those embodiments which fall within the scope of the appended claims, regardless of whether they accomplish one or more of the aforementioned needs.